DVD RENTAL, SALES CHARTS PUZZLE

The principal DVD/Blu-ray sales and rental charts seemed all the more puzzling on Wednesday as Home Media magazine reported that the No. 1 rental film of the week was Sony’s The Other Guys, while the same film only ranked No. 5 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart. The explanation was that the higher-ranked films on the sales chart had been withheld from Netflix and Redbox, the two leading disc renters, until 28 days after their release. Despicable Me, the No. 1 film on the sales chart ranked only No. 17 on the rental chart — reflecting rentals only at Blockbuster and mom-and-pop rental outlets, where studios do not impose the 28-day delay. Adding to the confusion is the fact that none of the charts disclose actual dollar figures, since rentals reflect only a sampling of video outlets and sales don’t include those of the two largest DVD retailers, Wal-Mart and Best Buy.